Chapter 11

Eleven, Joys and Sorrows Are Not Interconnected

After Magistrate Ouyang Rong went out, he looked back at the plaque of Sanhui Courtyard.

Getting rid of the woman in the long skirt and walking away with big strides with his back to her... this sense of ease and freedom made him exhale a breath of depression from his chest, and he felt that in an instant, the world outside had widened, and there was a sense of refreshment.

These past few days, Magistrate Ouyang Rong had been pressed on the sickbed by Lady Zhen and stifled in the room, with nothing to do, "hearing" and "thinking" too much.

He always felt something was missing.

Finally, this morning, he was pointed out by Master Venerable Shan Dao: rather than sitting and discussing the Dao, it is better to rise and act.

The so-called Three Wisdoms are not just "hearing" and "thinking," but also "cultivating and acting"!

Magistrate Ouyang Rong felt that that night in the underground palace, he could risk climbing out of the "dangerous wellhead" for a glimmer of hope; so now, he could also rush for ten thousand merit points for the "Return, O return" blessing, which might be the road home.

"Do not hesitate, dare to take risks; the masses are often hesitant; a great man can achieve everything because he can know and can act."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong remembered that residual poem from that day again, and murmured softly: "The land is full of wailing and the city is full of blood, it is nothing but a thought to save the common people... Since this is your last residual thought, and I need ten thousand merit points, then I will take your share and go down the mountain to be a good Magistrate of Longcheng and control the flood!"

Yan Yan Wuxu hurried to Donglin Temple and saw Magistrate Ouyang Rong waiting with his hands behind his back at the main gate.

"Magistrate!"

"Talk while we walk."

"Yes, Magistrate."

On the mountain road mixed with fallen leaves and wet mud, the newly appointed young county magistrate of Longcheng walked in front, and the young constable in dark blue uniform followed one step behind.

"Magistrate, the flood at the foot of the mountain has receded a lot; the water rushing down from Lady Yunmeng Marsh in the south has flowed into the Yangtze River in the north; many houses in the county town have collapsed, but the most miserable ones are the towns and villages under Longcheng, where most of the houses have collapsed.

"The fields are the same; most of the common people's good fields have been flooded, and in the low-lying areas, the water hasn't receded yet, turning into lakes; except for those high-quality fields on high ground, none have been spared, but these almost all belong to the wealthy gentry in the city.

"The merchants and craftsmen are actually doing better; Peng Lang Ferry has been repaired, and ships passing through Lady Yunmeng Marsh and the Yangtze River are stopping as usual, so the impact is not too great; the Gu Yue Sword Shop of the Liu family on the other side of Butterfly Creek hasn't stopped work for a moment, and the sword furnace has never gone out..."

Yan Yan Wuxu sighed and pointed to the disaster victims dragging their families to the temple on the mountain road, "The most miserable ones are the farmers; right now, most of the disaster victims and refugees inside and outside Longcheng are them; they have no houses and no fields, and everything was washed away by the flood; in some places, even the whole village fled to the county town, and public security is already a bit tight.

"County Assistant Official Diao is opening the granary to distribute grain on your behalf, and has also united with several kind-hearted wealthy gentry in the city to distribute porridge..."

"'Great Kind-hearted People,' huh." Magistrate Ouyang Rong, who was walking in front with his hands behind his back, suddenly interrupted and smiled, "So our Longcheng has them too."

Yan Yan Wuxu was stunned and asked curiously: "What is the Magistrate laughing at..."

"Nothing, just smelled something familiar. Continue, Yan Liulang."

Yan Yan Wuxu was about to explain the flood situation, but heard the young county magistrate in front suddenly turn his head and say: "Forget about the flood for now. Yan Liulang, introduce me to the officials in our county government office; I was in a coma for too long and don't have an impression of some of them."

Yan Yan Wuxu frowned slightly, "The Magistrate is the official, the greatest parent official of Longcheng; the County Assistant, Registrar, and County Lieutenant are all your subordinate officials; how can you call them officials? You are being too modest, Magistrate."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong smiled and didn't explain. Power is something that goes from the bottom up, but it often gives the appearance of going from the top down.

Yan Yan Wuxu didn't dawdle and told everything he knew about the County Assistant, Registrar, and County Lieutenant of Longcheng.

Although these three official positions were small, they, together with the County Magistrate, constituted the highest decision-making layer of the Great Zhou local county unit, and were all top-level big figures in the eyes of the local common people...

After listening, Magistrate Ouyang Rong pondered for a while and prepared to go down the mountain to take a look, but Yan Yan Wuxu seemed to think of something and called him to a stop.

"Does the Magistrate still remember the brave man who truly saved your life that I mentioned the day before yesterday?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong turned his head slightly, "I remember, what's wrong."

Yan Yan Wuxu first clasped his fists to plead guilty, and said shamefully:

"His name is Liu Ashan, and he is also recovering from his injuries at Donglin Temple. After saving the Magistrate that day, this man's waist was also cut by a sharp object in the torrent; later, his injuries became more and more serious, and after the flood, their house and property were gone, and they were homeless; it wasn't until his young sister came to the door in the middle of the night that this subordinate knew about it, so I took the liberty to arrange a guest room in Donglin Temple for their family on behalf of the Magistrate, and I hope the Magistrate will forgive me..."

Before Yan Yan Wuxu finished speaking, he was stunned, because the young magistrate in front had already disappeared, and Magistrate Ouyang Rong's voice came from behind.

"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and take me to see the hero."

The Great Zhou has a slave system; it also divides the common people into "good" and "mean," and there are many kinds of "mean" status, such as craftsmen, musicians, and actors;

And slaves are the lowest level of "mean" status, the so-called "slaves and mean people, whose laws are compared to livestock," whose life and death are in the hands of their holders.

However, according to the relationship of affiliation, slaves can be divided into official slaves and private slaves.

Banxi, the Silla maid by the aunt's side, is a private slave, and the treatment of this kind depends on the master's family.

And the family Magistrate Ouyang Rong saw right now are official slaves.

... The atmosphere in the room was a bit awkward.

Yan Yan Wuxu was guarding the door and didn't come in.

Only Magistrate Ouyang Rong, wearing a clean white Lan shirt tidied up by Lady Zhen and the others, stood before the sickbed, a bit at a loss.

Because he was the only one standing in the room.

And the three members of the Liu family, an old one and a young one, were crawling on the ground kowtowing to salute, while the remaining tattooed man was lying on the bed, thin as a stick, looking like he was on the verge of death, but still struggling to support himself to salute.

"You... you... don't be so formal... don't be so formal, hero, you are already like this, don't salute, just recover well."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's words were incoherent; he didn't know how to speak, and was a bit flustered as he pressed down the sick man who wanted to get out of bed, and hurriedly reached out to help the old and young on the ground.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong knew this was the norm in this era, but even if his conscience could take it, he was afraid his mere one hundred merit points wouldn't agree.

He chatted enthusiastically for a few sentences and roughly understood the situation.

This weak man with a thin face and tattoos on the bed was Liu Ashan, who had saved him that day.

In the room, there was also a little girl with ink characters tattooed on her forehead, in the prime of her youth, looking very delicate and pretty, especially those eyes, which were particularly large and spirited, a bit like a girl from a two-dimensional anime, making Magistrate Ouyang Rong couldn't help but take a few extra looks; he really hadn't seen such spiritual eyes for a long time.

Only at this moment, the young girl's eyes were red, and there was a look of sorrow; she buried her small head deeply and didn't look at him. Magistrate Ouyang Rong heard Ashan call her name just now; it seemed to be Saving Aqing.

In addition, there was an old woman who was trembling; this was the mother of the brother and sister, Lady Liu.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong was already tall and slender, and his temperament was clean and scholarly; standing in the room at this moment, he was like a night-luminescent pearl thrown into the dust, very conspicuous.

Only he himself didn't know this; this was the description in the heart of Yan Yan Wuxu, who was frequently looking back into the room.

"Young Master, recover well; I will let Constable Yan come to see you often; if there is anything you need, medicine or tonics, please don't hesitate to say..."

"Madam, take care of your health, eat well and drink well; I will have the abbot send some temple servants over later; if there is anything, you can let them help..."

"Young lady... young lady, study well... whether it's learning embroidery or other specialties. Don't let your mother and brother worry; if there are difficulties, you can also mention them to Yan Liulang..."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong racked his brains to come up with a bunch of words to care for and comfort the three members of the Liu family, but what made him feel a bit strange was that their reactions were not particularly enthusiastic, grateful, or flattered, but rather their expressions were different.

Lady Liu and Saving Aqing seemed to be a bit afraid of him, and when they answered, they were also timid;

And Liu Ashan, who was lying on the bed, except for the initial attempt to get up to salute which was pressed down by Magistrate Ouyang Rong, for the rest of the time, he stared blankly at the gray cloth bed curtain above his head, with no surprise or emotion on his face.

The few of them were like puppets, answering one question at a time; if Magistrate Ouyang Rong didn't ask, they wouldn't take the initiative to speak, and occasionally they would force a smile, but their muscles were stiff, which was a bit embarrassing.

However, Magistrate Ouyang Rong wasn't angry, only thinking that it was because he came too late, and it was indeed his fault for neglecting his savior.

He would have to come and visit often when he had time... the young county magistrate thought to himself.

"Then I won't disturb Brother Ashan's recovery; I'll come to see you another day!"

"Walk slowly, Great Master."

Magistrate Ouyang Rong said goodbye and went out, finally feeling relieved, and at this time, Yan Yan Wuxu leaned into his ear and whispered:

"Magistrate, I just took a look; Liu Ashan's injury symptoms seem to be tetanus, and it seems there is no saving him..."

Someone's movements paused.